David Frum Quotes

Historians are responsible not only for the words they write but for the words they don’t write.

History is almost always written by the victors and conquerors and gives their view. Or, at any rate, the victors' version is given prominence and holds the field.

I knew that a historian (or a journalist, or anyone telling a story) was forced to choose, out of an infinite number of facts, what to present, what to omit. And that decision inevitably would reflect, whether consciously or not, the interests of the historian.

You couldn't always trust the history books. They told a diluted truth, a truth by committee.

The assembly has witnessed how historical truth is established. Once an allegation is repeated a few times, it is no longer an allegation. It is an established fact, even if no evidence has been brought out in order to support it.

History is merely gossip.

No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture; but modern history is not a very satisfactory side-arm in political polemics; it grows less and less so.

Each one writes history according to his convenience.

Whoever writes on world history, but not as a forensic history, becomes thereby an accomplice.

The ‘facts' of history do not exist for any historian until he creates them, and into every fact that he creates some part of his individual experience must enter. But experience not only furnishes the elements for the image which the sources guide us in forming: it is also the final court of appeal in evaluating the sources themselves.

What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end; legends are lies which become history in the end.

Learning from history is impossible if the narrative is wrong.

History is so subjective. The teller of it determines it.

It's unfortunate people can twist and turn things to fit whatever narrative they'd like it to fit.

People say they make movies to show what 'really happens.' But they only show what they choose to show.

Something about writing needs a sort of distance not to be involved as a writer - just something that makes it easier to write. You have to make choices all the time - what to tell and what not to tell.

The voice of history is often little more than the organ of hatred or flattery.

Official history is a matter of believing murderers on their own word.

The writing of history reflects the interests, predilections, and even prejudices of a given generation.

Creative memory is the historian's most subtle opponent.

Half of writing history is hiding the truth.

History is but a confused heap of facts.

The case against the notion of historical objectivity is like the case against international law, or international morality; that it does not exist.

All the old history was written for the amusement of the ruling classes. The lower classes couldn't read, and their rulers didn't care about remembering what happened to them.

History -- its what those bitter old men write.